Izzie and Denny: The Wedding
by aries03
Summary: Imagine if Denny never got that deadly clot and lived to see the happiest day of his life. Please r&r. Any reviews are appreciated.
1. Prologue

It is a gorgeous day for a wedding outdoors. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The air smells of beautiful orchids of pale purple. Bows and tooling line the aisle. _Cannon in D_ is playing softly in the background as the bridesmaids, Meredith and Christina, make their way to the front of the altar. Their pale green bridesmaid's dresses seem to glow in the sunlight. _This is it!_ Izzie takes the hand of Chief Weber and slowly makes her way to the front where her groom-to-be waits patiently. There couldn't have been a more perfect moment.


	2. Chapter 1

After cutting the LVAD wires, Izzie thought she might never see her Denny well again. She thought that maybe she had made a huge mistake. Watching the heart transplant surgery put knots in her stomach, but this was the only chance Denny had at living a normal life. She needed him to live a normal life. What a relief it was to see him out of surgery with his color coming back and signs of decent circulation!

That night was the prom for the Chief's niece. Izzie had searched for hours to decide on the perfect dress to wear. She was running a little late, but she just had to show Denny. She wanted him to be her date, but since that wasn't possible, she wanted him to at least see her looking her best. When she walked in the room, his eyes lit up.

"Now, that's the woman I fell in love with and am going to make marry me!"

Tears rolled down Izzie's cheeks. Denny was looking so lively. This is the reason why Izzie had put her entire career on the line—to see the man she loves looking so radiant and full of life.

"So, pretty lady, I was thinking…I had lost hope during this illness. I had lost happiness, but then you came along. I have never been happier, and I can't imagine spending a day apart from you ever again. If you would let me, I would love to marry you as soon as I can get out of here. I know that will be awhile before I have totally up and running, but Izzie, it would be so worth it to know that you will be mine."

"Denny…I'm flattered." She said, blushing through-and-through. "I just don't know if I can plan a wedding in such short time. I'm not good at those types of things."

"Honey, it doesn't have to be elaborate. Do you know what will make the day perfect? You, walking down the aisle in that white dress towards me. Us. Together. That is what will make the day perfect, honey. Don't worry, ok. I love you so much…" a momentary pause as Denny held back the tears "…and I just want you to be happy."

Those were the sweetest words ever spoken to Izzie, and she was in a whirlwind. She wished this moment wouldn't have to end, but the Chief was going to reprimand anyone not attending the prom. She had to get down there.


	3. Chapter 2

The happy couple decided on a date six months out. That would give Denny time to recover enough to last through such a long day. Now, there was just a wedding to plan.

"Hey, Meredith! Wait up!" Izzie shouted trying to catch Meredith getting into the elevator.

"Whoa, Iz, what's up with you?" Meredith said giggling. "You never run after me like that. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine, but this is important. I'm not good at these sorts of things, so I'm just going to go for it. I don't have many friends here, and I definitely don't have friends as close as you, well, besides George. I was just curious…if maybe…you would be my maid of honor."

Meredith, taken back to be asked for such a prestigious role, replies "Wow! Didn't see that one coming. I mean…I expected to be asked to be in your wedding, but maid of honor? I would be honored."

"Do you think that Christina…well…would be in my wedding, too? She and I haven't really been the closest."

Rolling her eyes, Meredith replied "Seriously! You worry too much. Christina may appear cold, but she _does_ like you. I don't foresee a problem. I think she'd be honored, as well. Ser..ious..ly."

And Meredith was right. Christina, appearing less than enthused, glared at Izzie after being asked. She would never let Izzie know that she would actually maybe enjoy being in her wedding. As she started to walk away from the nurse's station, she retorted "Yeah, yeah. Alright. Fine. I'll be in your _stink'n' _wedding."

Denny, not having any close family of his own, agreed to have George and Alex (yes, Alex) be his side of the party…George of course being the best man.

"Hey.." Denny exclaimed, "…if George is your best friend, then he must be a good man. Any best friend of yours is a friend of mine. Of course he can be my best man, honey, if that's whom you think best. And hey, Alex isn't really that bad either." Starting to whisper, he leans in close and adds, "To tell you the truth, I've always kind of liked him. Him and I, well, we had a common bond…caring for you." He winks and settles back in for an afternoon nap.

There was only one thing left to do.

"Chief?" Izzie said hesitantly as she entered Chief Weber's office. "I know you have no reason to say yes to this. It's kind of a strange request, but you see, I never really knew my father. I was raised by a single mother, and since she wants more to play the mother of the bride role than the father role, I have no one to walk me down the aisle. You are the closest father figure I have right now, so, just maybe, would you consider walking me down the aisle?"

The Chief looked up from his paperwork…tears briefly escaping from his eyes. "Izzie Stevens, I would be honored."

So the first step was complete. The perfect wedding party was picked.


	4. Chapter 3

The rest of the planning just seemed to glide like butter on bread. There was this beautiful little park on the coastline, overlooking the water. There was a long pier there that was big enough to fit a decent size altar and wedding arch. There was even enough room for the all of the wedding party to fit on the pier. Denny could think of nothing more beautiful then joining in union with the love of his life side-by-side with nature. He had come so close to losing his life several times, and now, he wanted to celebrate life and take in as much as he could. This site was perfect for them.

Izzie decided that pale purple and pale green would blend marvelously in with the colors of the water. Orchids have always been her favorite flower. Maybe that was because when Izzie was a little girl, her grandfather would always take her to polka dances (yes, polka dances) with him. There was this one foxtrot called _I Overlooked an Orchid_, and the song always made her heart smile. I mean, the verse spoke for itself:

I overlooked an orchid.

While searching for a rose.

The orchid that I overlooked was you.

The rose that was searching for

Has proved to be untrue.

The orchid now I find, my dear, is you.

As weird as it may sound, Izzie found that to be a beautiful love song. She went into the surgical field determined to make herself known for something more miraculous than just being the 'dumb, pretty blonde girl'. She focused intently on her career for awhile there, just giving herself glimpses of happiness here and there. She now considered her career to be the rose. The orchid is the love and happiness she finds when she's with Denny. It's the love and happiness everyone deserves in life but she had been denying herself for so long. She had settled for roses her whole life: things that look beautiful but bear sharp thorns. She would settle no more. She found happiness, and she was going to stick with it. That is why she chose _I Overlooked an Orchid_ to be their wedding song. Denny thought there couldn't be a song more appropriate if that was really the way Izzie felt out the song, and he told her it would be most fitting if she chose orchids as her flower to match that love and devotion in the song.

She actually left Meredith and Christina in charge of picking out the bridesmaid's dressing. The only requirement she had was that they be pale green. Nothing else really seemed to matter. Her dress was the one that really mattered. She found the most beautiful dress, too. It, of course, was white with just a touch of pale purple on the train. The train wasn't too long, of course, because that would just be inappropriate for an outdoors wedding. There was just simple beading around the bust to make the dress shimmer in the sunlight. She found the perfect jewelry to match, too! The pieces were lined with leaf shaped and studded with diamonds. She had chosen to not wear anything in her hair except for a single, white orchid mixed into a simple double braid. The simpler everything was, the better.

She had decided to make the wedding cake herself. She had always loved to back, and she thought that would make it just that much more special. Denny was impressed. He had never known someone so ambitious about baking before, and he counted his lucky stars to be marrying such a talented woman. Plus, since they weren't inviting more than one hundred people to the wedding, the cake didn't have to be that large: simple was the theme for the day. If everything around them was simplified, their love would be magnified. The day was to celebrate them, and they wanted nothing to overshadow that.

So, all the plans were made. The invitations were sent. The decorations ordered. The wedding dress altered. There was nothing left to do but bask in the love they had for each other and wait for their union as man and wife.


	5. Chapter 4

It is a gorgeous day for a wedding outdoors. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The pale blue water sparkled and waves crashed ever so gently along the pier. There weren't even any boats out on the water today. You could see for miles on end and stare into what seemed to be an endless horizon.

The air smells of beautiful orchids of pale purple. Bows and tooling line the aisle. _Cannon in D_ is playing softly in the background as the bridesmaids, Meredith and Christina, make their way to the front of the altar. Their pale green bridesmaid's dresses seem to glow in the sunlight. _This is it!_ Izzie takes the hand of Chief Weber and slowly makes her way to the front where her groom-to-be waits patiently. There couldn't have been a more perfect moment.

At the altar stood Denny along side George and Alex. He had his crazy little grin on his face that melted Izzie's heart. His hair had that beautiful soft curl to it. His eyes seems to glow with love. Tears gently rolled down as they joined hands to walk onto the pier together. The readings were read, the hymns sung. The vows were just about it be read…

"Izzie! Iz, please open this door!"

…the scenery started to shift. Izzie watched as her dream started to leak away…

"Izzie…come on! You need to talk about this."

…the waves that were gently crashing against the pier turned into a violent roar and then into more of a knocking sound…

"Izzie…this has gone on long enough. We need to talk about this now."

…and then, it was all gone. The wedding was all gone. Izzie started to bawl inconsolably when she found herself laying on the bathroom floor. Her beautiful wedding dress was really the dress she had chosen for the prom. Her bouquet was really just a wad of tissue bunched up in her fists. _No. I don't want this reality. I want the other reality. The one were Denny didn't die._

Just then, Meredith bursts into the bathroom and lays on the floor right next to Izzie. _Should I tell her about the dream? No. Then I would have to admit it was just a dream._ And so it went. Izzie slowly started to come around, but she never mentioned her dream to anybody. Part of her wanted to keep that perfect moment wrapped up in her mind, so on those nights, when the darkness becomes suffocating, she can bring the dream back to life. Her heart ached deeply. A piece of it was missing, but at least, when the pain got to be too intense, she could close her eyes and relive that perfect moment overlooking the water. She can almost smell the orchids, and hear the waves crashing. _Cannon in D_ plays softly in the background, and it feels real. It feels almost as real as the searing pain, and that was going to have to satisfaction enough. Through it all, that would have to be enough.

THE END


End file.
